Author: Joseph von Eichendorff

Year of origin: 1835

Theme: Longing, merging of nature and soul, transcendence

Stylistic devices: Metaphor, personification, alliteration, symbolism

“Moonlit Night” is the epitome of Romantic poetry. Eichendorff places the connection between humans and nature at the center of the poem. The moonlit night is given its own soul (“the world so still, as if it were the stillness of death”). Stylistic devices like metaphor (“the earth dreamed”) and symbolism (moon as a carrier of longing) create a magical, melancholic atmosphere. The lyrical self experiences an inner journey and merging with nature, reflecting the Romantic core idea of the unity of human and cosmos.